<p> For-profit colleges and universities and accrediting agencies have been the subject of criticism and scrutiny over the past few years. This dissertation examines the primary reason for this scrutiny: the seeming conflict between profit motive and student success. It ascertains the educational values of three regionally accredited for-profit college presidents and explains the differences in how presidents and institutions balance profit motive with student success. To do so, it focuses on three central questions: first, how do for-profit colleges and universities acknowledge and address this central dilemma of balancing profit motive with student success? Second, is accreditation a constructive force or an obstacle in resolving this dilemma? And third, what other institutional factors play a role in resolving this dilemma? </p><p> Using a case study approach, this dissertation examines three "best in class" for-profit institutions, all of which are regionally accredited with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. It concludes that each of these institutions uses a business model that ensures fiscal responsibility but not profit maximization. It also shows that accreditation in each acts as a constructive force, motivating the institutions' focus on assessment of student learning and improvement of student outcomes. Accreditation can also further legitimize these institutions' educational quality in a competitive marketplace that includes both for- and non-profit institutions. Finally, other factors for these institutions' success include family ownership, small enrollment numbers, and constant program evaluation. These factors enabled both a greater focus on student success and the flexibility to retool, add, or eliminate programs to ensure financial viability and stability.</p>

As a response to globalization, internationalisation of higher education could be accomplished by the forms of a series of national policies and institutional strategies to strengthen the global competitiveness of universities. The history of Japanese higher education spans approximately over 130 years, experiencing both flourishing time and stagnant period. Driven by the increasing pace of internationalisation and great pressure originated from global competition, Japanese government has already taken concrete measures to get its higher education better merged into internationalization. However, higher education in Japan is now at a crossroads maintaining its sustainable and steady development. As Japan’s neighboring country, China came much more slowly of breaking the ice for the internationalisation in dimension of higher education if compared with Japan. As gradually playing an important role internationally, China has invested massively into internationalisation of higher education as well. However the direction of development in Chinese higher education seems to be blur or too early to tell. The current status of higher education in China and Japan are both characterized by profoundly historical roots. Better understanding on the ‘historical internationalisation’ in both countries sheds light on the understanding of higher education in contemporary China and Japan and their developmental progress. Therefore the present dissertation examines the originally authentic sense of internationalisation which could be traced back to the middle to late 19th century. During the middle of nineteenth century China and Japan were both undergoing the threat from invasive West with countries’ independence and traditional culture in danger. In response to expansion of the West, Chinese and Japanese’s reactions varied enormously in polity subversion, economic construction, attitudes towards foreign culture and educational reform. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 in Japan rapidly foster its modernization by successfully ‘using the barbarian to control the barbarian’ to achieve the equal standards with the West eventually which opened a brand-new page for the beginning of Japanese modern history. Unlike Japan, Chinese failure in Self-Strengthening Movement which was supposed to be the preparation of modernization in China, stroke China back to the abyss of bureaucratic governance, leading Chinese modernization and first step accepting western culture and technology almost half a century later than Japan. In this sense, historical roots of internationalisation in China and Japan would be taken into serious consideration in this dissertation because it shaped countries’ status quo and would probably insert a far-reaching influence on the prospective development. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The main purpose of the study was to analyze and compare higher educational systems and the major variables affecting them in Sri-Lanka and Kenya. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and literature reviewed. The conceptual framework of the study is in accordance with a model for a cross-cultural national study of comparative education systems developed by Dr. Herbert B. Wilson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona. The findings of the study indicated that a comparative education system is significantly intertwined and affected by a number of important variables including (1) certain national characteristics such as culture, traditions, religion, politics, patriotism, international contact, life cycles, geography, economy, climate, demographic trends, and social organization; (2) socializing agents including family, tribe, clan, caste, social institutions, religion, military, media, literature, communication, schools, research stations, museums, publications, and public libraries; (3) the history and philosophy of education in public, private, religious, and proprietary sectors; (4) curriculum and instruction including scope, level, sequence, methodology, and mission; (5) enabling activities including administration, authority, control, financing, and political climate; (6) providing activities including availability and preparation of faculty, students, and administrators, and (7) certain current problems and issues affecting education. The major conclusions indicate that the building of a strong system of higher education is an accretive process involving not only the availability of resources but the arising national aspirations and attitudes as well as the development within the population of an awareness of the personal, regional, and national returns from education, particularly higher education. Such public and private awareness is the catalyst for the development and effectiveness of a productive higher education system.

<p> The purpose of this study was to build upon the growing foundational base of knowledge on the academic and social transitions of student combat veterans and contribute to a greater theoretical understanding of this population and how their perception of identity may influence their experience as college students. </p><p> The researcher conducted a qualitative study to explore the experiences of student combat veterans as they transitioned from the military to higher education and discovered how their perceptions of their own identity influenced their experiences in college. The researcher's investigation aimed to answer a primary research question: How do combat veterans perceive their own identity and what influence does this have on their experience as college students? </p><p> Hecht's (1993) Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) and Gee's (2000) conceptual identity model served as guiding frameworks for the development of interview protocols in a two-part semi-structured interview series. Nineteen student veterans (<i>n</i>=19) at two community colleges in Northwestern Massachusetts were interviewed. In addition to participant interviews, the researcher employed fieldwork throughout the study in an effort to provide the appropriate data triangulation, including observations during student veteran organization meetings and college-sponsored events, and informal conversations with student veterans, faculty, and staff at each site. </p><p> Analysis of the data consisted of the three levels of coding recommended by Strauss and Corbin (1998): (a) open (emic) coding, (b) axial coding, and (c) selective (etic) coding. Seven initial categories of data and common codes were identified amongst all 19 participants at both research sites. These categories and associated codes were then evaluated by the researcher in the context of the research question and protocols for distinctive overlapping commonalities and parallel meaning, then grouped into core themes. </p><p> Four themes representing the collective experiences and perceptions of the participants emerged in the research: Perception of self, perception of others, inferred perception of self, and connections to other veterans. The researcher found each of these themes influenced the experience for participants as college students on multiple levels.</p>

<p> Student leadership development is a key initiative at many colleges and universities in the United States today. Many of the liberal arts institutions in America have leadership development of their student population as one of the fundamental elements of their educational objectives (Astin, 1997; Durden, 2001; Rothblatt, 2003). This study utilized a qualitative, multiple-case study design to explore how two liberal arts institutions developed socially responsible leaders within their student population. An expert-driven, purposeful sampling strategy was utilized for this study. Using an interview and focus group protocol that was framed by the Social Change Model of Leadership (SCM), the researcher also used a documentation review to collect data. The findings were reported as two individual case studies, followed by a cross-case analysis looking for areas of convergence and divergence between the institutions. The SCM was an effective theoretical framework to determine how these liberal arts institutions develop socially responsible leaders. Each of the eight constructs from the SCM was addressed by the study's research question and subquestions. The findings from the study were consistent with the student learning and development analogous with the descriptions of the constructs from the theoretical framework. However, there were several influences on student leadership development that were underrepresented in the findings. Thus, the recommendations offered, along with other findings of the study, propose tactics for more thorough development of socially responsible leaders at liberal arts institutions.</p>

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of educationally-related peer relationships, students&rsquo; understanding of faculty expectations, and student characteristics on the persistence of doctoral students in non-traditional, residential, cohort programs in educational leadership. Drawing on the concepts of academic and social integration (Tinto, 1975, 1993) and role ambiguity (Rizzo, House, &amp; Lirtzman, 1970), this correlational, cross-sectional study used a quantitative survey instrument to examine students&rsquo; perceptions of their doctoral program experiences. </p><p> Scales were drawn from four existing instruments to measure students&rsquo; relationships with peers and students&rsquo; understanding of faculty expectations. In addition, demographic questions that are typical to persistence studies were included to measure student characteristics. Participants chose to respond to the survey either online or via postal mail. A total of 243 participants responded to the survey, yielding a 54.73% response rate. </p><p> Hierarchical logistic regression was used to answer each of the research questions. Gender, educationally-related peer relationships, and students&rsquo; understanding of faculty expectations increased the odds of persistence of doctoral students in educational leadership cohort programs. The influence of race, marital or domestic partner status, and the number of dependents varied based on the program of study that was examined. Age and employment did not influence the persistence of doctoral students. Peer relationships were recognized for being more assistive in achieving persistence than was previously understood. Therefore, the results of this study may help to refine theory on doctoral student persistence as it pertains to peer relationships. Students with a clear understanding of faculty expectations were more likely to persist than students who were uncertain about faculty expectations. This outcome was expected given the critical role that faculty play in clarifying students&rsquo; responsibilities and helping them navigate their graduate programs. Several recommendations were offered to administrators to assist them in developing environments that foster collaborative relationships among students and accessible relationships between students and faculty. </p>

<p> This multi-site case study is really the story of three same-state community colleges (Bridge and Buffer Community College, Grants and Reserves Community College, and Crystal Ball Community College) two years after they suffered a potentially catastrophic 50% reduction in state allocations. This study examined their responses to those reductions and attempted to frame those responses according to existing research on strategic activity and strategic positioning. </p><p> The theoretical framework used, referenced as a theoretical mesh, consisted of academic capitalism (Slaughter &amp; Leslie, 1997; Slaughter &amp; Rhoades, 2004), resource dependence theory (Pfeffer &amp; Salancik, 1978), state relative autonomy perspective (Dougherty, 1994), and neo-institutional theory (DiMaggio &amp; Powell, 1983). The synthesis of these theories facilitated the analysis of the findings of this study. </p><p> This study identified three key phenomena: The <i>Quartering of Community Colleges</i> to conceptualize and organize the abundance of external pressures facing community colleges, <i>Mandates to Neutralize </i> to explain the importance of an aggressive and formal approach to neutralizing external pressures, and <i>Embedded Community Colleges</i> whose strategic positions are strengthened through a deliberate, committed approach to fostering close relationships with their local communities.</p>

<p> Studies suggest that the academic identity of liberal arts faculty is changing due to the introduction and use of new managerialism practices in higher education. Increasingly, faculty members are being asked to take on tasks considered to be outside of traditional teaching, research, and service functions. These tasks are largely administrative in nature, and while previous research has documented some shifts in faculty duties, none has detailed the explicit impacts these shifts have on faculty identity. </p><p> This phenomenological study documents how 15 tenured and tenure-track liberal arts faculty members at a well-respected and highly ranked research 1 (R1) university in the Mid-Atlantic region have experienced new managerialism. It tells a story of a faculty devoted not only to research but also to teaching&mdash;one that values both the high caliber of undergraduate students and his colleagues and the strong academic tradition and reputation of the institution. The data in some ways paint a portrait of what one would expect to find: faculty members who fervently believe in the intellectual freedom that comes with tenure. At the same time, the data challenge previously held generalisms, such as a faculty member's primary identification with his or her discipline. The study also details concerns about what has been described as the rapidly expanding administrative core of the university&mdash;those individuals not primarily focused on conducting research or teaching students. </p><p> My conclusions question higher education's societal role and the academy's present challenges and opportunities, and depict faculty members who are clinging to an idealized image of the professoriate of the past and, at the same time, attempting to define their future identity.</p>

<p> Classroom scheduling in higher education is a complicated process involving many different stakeholders across the campus. These stakeholders may include, but are not limited to faculty, students, administrators, and boards of trustees. Due to the culture and practices, as well as the conflicting interests of each of these groups, the scheduling process of academic classrooms and instructional laboratories may not always be efficient. This inefficiency often results in the underutilization of an institution&rsquo;s space. This study supplements the limited research available by examining and benchmarking best practices in efficient classroom scheduling in higher education at private, non-profit institutions of higher education in the United States. An electronic survey instrument was developed to serve a variety of purposes: to assess factors affecting the classroom scheduling process; to explore internal and external forces that influence classroom scheduling from the viewpoint of the institution&rsquo;s registrars tasked with classroom scheduling; and to develop a list of best practices in efficient classroom scheduling from feedback and input that can be adapted by any institution. The survey was pilot tested on a panel consisting of five registrars recruited through an announcement placed on the LinkedIn group entitled College and University Registrars. The data resulting from survey and registrar feedback were then used to develop a list of best practices in classroom scheduling. These practices formed the framework for developing a benchmarking self-score sheet to evaluate institutional practices and identify opportunities for improvement.</p>

<p> One of the primary the missions of colleges and universities is dedicated to student success. Traditionally, helping academically probationary students has been challenging for all educational institutions, because there are a multitude of factors involved for the schools and the students including, for example, demographics, socioeconomic issues, student motivation, and student time-management skills. The complexity introduced by these various factors creates obstacles in developing effective programs to aid and assist these students. At the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), there exists a course entitled Insights on Success that is designed as an intervention step to improve individual academic performance through self-discovery. The Insights on Success curriculum also works with students on several of the factors that are found in the current literature discussing academically probationary students and examining the factors that contribute to their poor performance, but this study focuses on the effectiveness of the Insights on Success course, itself. Effectiveness of the course for this study was determined by the improvement of the GPA scores of the probationary students who attended the class versus a control group of students who did not attend the class. </p><p> This research study evaluates the effectiveness of the Insights on Success course on the academic performance of probationary students attending baccalaureate degree programs within RIT's College of Applied Science &amp; Technology. This study presents the research design, discusses strategies for engaging the students, and explains the metrics that were assessed to determine the success or failure of the intervention.</p>